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Thursday, 19 February 2015

Apologies for the long gap between posts, and thanks to those who have been continuing to send us copies of their zines. We really appreciate it! Over the last few months we've been busy working on various funding applications and now we're able to announce that we were successful in getting hold of some funding from the HLF. Here's the official press release:

Salford Zine Library has received a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Sharing Heritage announced today. This exciting project, based at Nexus Art Café in Manchester, has been given £8,800 to catalogue its collection of over 1500 zines and other self published works from around the world and create an online catalogue for this unique collection.

Salford Zine Library works with educational institutions, cultural venues and arts organisations to promote creativity and engagement with zines and DIY culture. It aims to provide an accessible resource for preserving and sharing DIY heritage and, through its various outreach activities, continue to grow its collection of self-published works.

Zines (essentially a small circulation self published work) have been around since the middle of the century, and have provided an accessible means of self-expression for a wide range of voices not typically heard via the mainstream media. Throughout the last century the medium was co-opted by a variety of different groups, from football fans to punks and political activists, and there is growing academic interest in zines and DIY culture.

This project will enable Salford Zine Library to catalogue its growing collection and create a website to allow members of the public to browse the collections via a new website. Funding will also help the library to do more work in the community, promoting zine making and zine makers through regular workshops, readings and exhibitions.

Commenting on the award, Steve Carlton said: “we’re really looking forward to being able to show off our collection on our new website. It’ll be a great resource for those interested in zines and will create loads of new opportunities for us to continue to inspire people to self publish. Zines are an often overlooked part of our heritage and we want to celebrate them.”

Sara Hilton, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: “Sharing Heritage is a wonderful opportunity for communities to delve into their local heritage and we are delighted to be able to offer this grant so that Salford Zine Library can embark on a real journey of discovery. Heritage means such different things to different people, and HLF’s funding offers a wealth of opportunities for groups to explore and celebrate what’s important to them in their area.”

About Salford Zine Library

Salford Zine Library is a unique archive of self published materials, currently housed at Nexus Art Café on Dale Street in Manchester. It seeks to preserve and provide access to zines from around the world, as well as promoting zines and DIY culture through workshops, exhibitions and other events.

There are currently around 1500 zines in the collection, all of which have been donated by zine makers and collectors since 2010. The collection includes zines of all shapes and sizes, covering a broad range of subjects from football and feminism to veganism, science fiction and poetry.

Sharing Heritage

Sharing Heritage is for any not-for-profit group wanting to explore their community’s heritage. With a commitment from HLF of £3m each year, Sharing Heritage grants between £3,000 and £10,000 are available to groups who want to discover their local heritage. Projects can cover a wide spectrum of subject matter from exploring local archaeology and a community’s cultures and traditions to identifying and recording local wildlife and protecting the surrounding environment to managing and training volunteers, and holding festivals and events to commemorate the past.

Heritage Lottery Fund

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and help build a resilient heritage economy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported almost 36,000 projects with £5.9bn across the UK. www.hlf.org.uk. Images available on request.

Needless to say we are very excited! We have a lot of plans for the next few months and the new website is expected to go live (hopefully) in a couple of months, enabling people to search the entire collection. For the first time ever we'll be able to give an exact number of how many zines we've got!

We'll also be announcing some events and workshops and things, as well as some appearances at other events, that have been made possible thanks to this HLF funding. Keep your eyes on the usual places! If you'd like to talk to us about the zine library, work with us on something or feature us on your website/blog/TV program or in your newspaper or whatever, please do get in touch.

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Salford Zine Library is a self-publishing archive formed in January 2010 by Craig John Barr. The library aims to share creative self-published work. The library is housed at Nexus Art Cafe on Dale Street in Manchester. The archive is open to all to contribute to. There is no curatorship and we don’t wish to be arbiters of taste. The library is completely inclusive and your contribution is important.

The library tours the UK visiting schools, universities, public art galleries and book fairs. Salford Zine Library is non profit and unable to purchase any work. The archive works on a donation only basis and is now run by Steve Carlton and Elizabeth Murray Jones. If you wish to exhibit or show the library at your gallery, venue or event please get in touch.